Pros:
(3.091 Rating) A medium length course partially under a live oak canopy.
- SKILL LEVEL FRIENDLY - Recommended to me by DGCR member aclay, whom is a local player and also my guide for this one. When I first looked-up the length of North Park, I never would have guessed this place would have been as friendly as it was for such a wide swath of skill levels. On paper, and as I experienced, the short tees are Intermediate level. What makes it appeal to so many more skill levels is the forgiving landscape. Just about no overgrown areas. The chance of losing a disc is near zero. These are key attributes that will appeal to both Novices and Rec players. In addition, there are also back tees here, an aspect that will likely appeal to Advanced level players as well.
- CHALLENGING - Speaking of higher skilled players, this one is surely going to please players with 300 to 400 foot arms. Although labeled a par 54, this one honestly felt like at least a par 56 from the short tees. A couple holes were close to 500 feet long and I'm not aware of any regular players that can bomb plus 400 and then plays the short tees. Anyways, having a big arm is going to be the biggest separator in scoring. There are however numerous moderately wooded holes and pinging a tree early is going to make getting par real difficult. As alluded to before, I think the short tees are Intermediate level and the back tees are Advanced level.
- AMENITIES - DISCatcher baskets and big concrete tees are a plus for any course. I want to say the tees were 6 by 12. There also two of these pads on 17 holes. Other amenities include alternate basket placements, practice basket, posted course map and seating at about half of the holes.
- NAVIGATION - I had a fantastic guide for this one, so I may have missed something. Overall, the flow felt good enough, but partially flawed. First, it helps that there's a posted course map, but it doesn't help that it does not reflect the updated layout as the map indicated hole (10), is now new hole (1). The tee signage is ok, which I'll touch on more below, but it's nowhere near the point of unacceptability. Once someone realizes that (10) is (1) and (1) is (10), a quick reference of the map should clear up any questions while on the layout. Most transitions are short and several are intuitive.
- RAW BEAUTY - I thought the course had some modest appeal to it. Personally, I just really like the look of holes under an older live oak canopy and there is a bunch of that aspect here. The course is well kept up, but there is noticeable relic trash like broken glass and small bits of plastic littered in numerous spots. The course is also surrounded by urban sprawl. One may argue that this place is a desert oasis. Overall, I scored North Park a touch above average for beauty.
Cons:
Only one moderate issue and a few minor things or preferential cons
- TEE SIGNAGE - If there was one thing that this course needs, its updated tee signs. Perhaps new ones are on the way. The tee signs are very simple, just a number and distance. A couple looked like they were falling apart. Updated signs as a whole here could really add some sparkle.
- SAFETY HAZARDSA handful of holes have a park access road in play. Not really a big deal, but its still not ideal. I have a feeling this course can get busy due to its location and appeal factor. Players will need to be more aware of their surroundings more than normal here.
- HOLE VARIETY - About average in my opinion. Generally lightly wooded to moderately wooded. Several of the live oak wooded holes have blended together in my memory already due to their similar feel. There are a couple short holes, numerous of them play between the high 200s and high 300s and a couple holes are also over 500 feet from the back tees. Mostly a flat landscape, although there is one nice downhill play on (6) old (15). Likely no water in play unless it had rained recently, or it lands in the one low spot on the dry creek bed along (8) old (17).
Other Thoughts:
North Park is solid disc golf. It's not exotic, but it has very respectable gameplay in a forgiving format. This course is going to be perfect for leagues and perhaps even small one-round tourneys. Also good for cards composed of multiple skill levels and big groups. Overall, this one felt like a mid 3.0 post play and sure enough when I tallied up the aspects and attributes, it settled right into that number. I think this rating number is about all this course can achieve considering the size of the park and the quality of it. Players traveling to the metro area should definitely consider checking it out if you find yourself within a half hour to forty-five minute drive, but if you're coming to DFW to play the cream of the crop, this likely isn't it. For those that live on the east side of Dallas, I don't think this is a must play course, unless you are trying to play all the top 30 metro courses, or so. It's a good play and all, but it's just not quite disc golf nirvana.
- TIME PLAY - It took our three-some and one walking tag-a-long, almost 2 hours to complete the round. I think we talked a lot, but it was a good time.
- THANK YOU - I got to experience my first Fort Worth area course with DGCR trusted reviewer aclay. Pretty ironic that when we spotted each other pre-round that we were wearing shirts with identical disc golf sayings. "How to Play Disc Golf: Throw, Swear, Look for Disc, Repeat." A pleasure meeting you sir. Thank you for being our guide and I hope we can do it again someday.